- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
I am sure many forum members purchase Civil War magazines. Some Civil War magazines were/are interesting reading. Although fine for the average American to get a taste of Civil War history, how much history can forum members learn from magazine articles?
For example, if the current Civil War Times magazine had a 8 page article about Gettysurg, to include color illustration, photos, and maps, how much new information would I learn? The amount of new information I learned would depend on what part of the Battle of Gettysburg the article was about as well as my level of knowledge before I read the article.
To be honest, a 6 to 12 page article can only cover a limited amount of information and once you subtract illistrations, the information presented is a bit brief. I do not believe that the Battle of Gettysburg can adequately be covered by such a brief article. However, this does not indicate Civil War magazines have no histortical value. There are subjects that probably can be presented in a short article.
Last night I read an article in a magazine about the Battle of Glorieta Pass. An author can not do much more in 10 pages than give a brief summary of this battle. Although I enjoyed reading the article, I have read 4 or 5 books about the War in the far west and am not sure Iearned too much new information. But what about a person who has never visited the Battle of Glorieta Pass nor never read any books about the Civil War in the far west?
Still a while back I read a magazine article about the First Battle of Mesilla. This battle was included in the 4 or 5 books I have read on the War in the far west. Still the books only briefly covered the First Battle of Mesilla, so the magazine article probably covered the battle in roughly the same depth as the books. I am assuming some forum members whose interests are more focused on eastern Civil War battles might learn a fair amount of new information by reading this article about the First Battle of Mesilla.
For example, if the current Civil War Times magazine had a 8 page article about Gettysurg, to include color illustration, photos, and maps, how much new information would I learn? The amount of new information I learned would depend on what part of the Battle of Gettysburg the article was about as well as my level of knowledge before I read the article.
To be honest, a 6 to 12 page article can only cover a limited amount of information and once you subtract illistrations, the information presented is a bit brief. I do not believe that the Battle of Gettysburg can adequately be covered by such a brief article. However, this does not indicate Civil War magazines have no histortical value. There are subjects that probably can be presented in a short article.
Last night I read an article in a magazine about the Battle of Glorieta Pass. An author can not do much more in 10 pages than give a brief summary of this battle. Although I enjoyed reading the article, I have read 4 or 5 books about the War in the far west and am not sure Iearned too much new information. But what about a person who has never visited the Battle of Glorieta Pass nor never read any books about the Civil War in the far west?
Still a while back I read a magazine article about the First Battle of Mesilla. This battle was included in the 4 or 5 books I have read on the War in the far west. Still the books only briefly covered the First Battle of Mesilla, so the magazine article probably covered the battle in roughly the same depth as the books. I am assuming some forum members whose interests are more focused on eastern Civil War battles might learn a fair amount of new information by reading this article about the First Battle of Mesilla.